tenor

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tenor1

▶noun

• 1 a singing voice between baritone and alto or countertenor, the highest of the ordinary adult male range.

• 2 [as modifier] denoting an instrument of the second or third lowest pitch in its family.

• 3 (in full tenor bell) the largest and deepest bell of a ring or set.

– origin ME: via OFr. from med. L., based on tenere ‘to hold’; because the tenor part ‘held’ the melody.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tenor2

▶noun

• 1 the general meaning, sense, or content of something.

• 2 a prevailing character or direction: the even tenor of life in the kitchen.

• 3 Law the actual wording of a document.

• 4 Finance the time that must elapse before a bill of exchange or promissory note becomes due for payment.

– origin ME: from OFr. tenour, from L. tenor ‘course, substance, import of a law’, from tenere ‘to hold’.